DAILY BLOG, March 19: Victims showed symptoms before returning to state

All three new cases of coronavirus were contracted overseas, with the victims showing symptoms before arriving in the country.

KEY POINTS:

• Ten cases of cornavirus in Tasmania have now been confirmed
• The Salamanca Market has been suspended
• LIST: Tassie guide to everything canceleld, postponed or closed
• A public health emergency has been declared
• Travellers will need to provide their details if they are returning from travel overseas
• GPs call for immediate school closures to control the spread of the disease
• UTAS and schools taking preventive measures, consider closing
• A GP and Labor candidate says Tasmania’s schools and universities need to be closed now
• Elective surgery could stall in Tasmania as hospitals look to increase capacity
• The final round of the Sheffield Shield has been called off

DON’T MISS: Your guide to everything cancelled, postponed or closed

7.50pm: QANTAS OVERHAULS TASMANIAN FLIGHTS

QANTAS has announced cuts to its Tasmanian flights following the state’s strict border control restrictions.

Qantas on Thursday said from March 29 eight of its return services to Tasmania will be suspended.

The company said it would issue travel credits only to affected customers who booked directly through the Qantas network.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

6.50pm: POLITICIANS UNITE FOR TEAM TASMANIA

IT was a Question Time like no other.

No arguments, no shouting, no interrupting, no warnings and no ejections.

The first hour of a sitting day in the House of Assembly is typically adversarial, with political opponents routinely slinging metaphorical mud at each other across the chamber.

But it was not the time for that on Thursday in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic which has seen the coronavirus leave a deadly trail throughout several countries, including Australia.

Speaker Sue Hickey is usually kept busy bringing the house under control, but she barely had to speak in what was a level of decorum not seen in recent memory.

Instead, political differences were emphatically set aside as Question Time refreshingly turned into Team Tasmania.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

6.05pm: COUNCIL PLANS CARE AND RECOVERY PACKAGE

CITY of Launceston Council has voted through a motion to develop a state-first community care and recovery package for businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the state’s north.

Mayor Albert van Zetten’s last-minute motion proposed that council’s CEO Michael Stretton work with councillors and general managers of the northern councils and the Northern Tasmanian Development Corporation to prepare the package.

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5.20pm: GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO KEEPING SCHOOLS OPEN

THE State Government is standing firm amid calls to close schools due to the coronavirus outbreak, saying shutting them down could be counter-productive to students’ overall health.

Opposition members renewed their push for action during Question Time on Thursday, arguing closing schools was a sensible measure to contain the spread of the virus.

Greens MPs Cassy O’Connor and Rosalie Woodruff said there was a growing sense among teachers, parents and medical professionals that it was the best course of action.

Ms O’Connor noted news from the UK overnight that it had closed schools to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

ISOLATED COMMUNITY’S AIRPORT REMAINS OPEN

YOU might think King Island would be perfectly positioned to close itself off from the world as the coronavirus crisis intensifies but it is that isolated position which makes maintaining air services so vital.

King Island Mayor Julie Arnold said the airport it owns would stay open unless there was a Government directive otherwise.

Extra cleaning measures have been introduced and the council is waiting on the Tasmanian Government’s new arrival cards for international travellers and residents coming home from overseas.

“We need to get residents off the island for medical appointments and other things and we need to get supplies in,” Cr Arnold said.

“We are simply not in a situation to close ourselves off.”

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3.50pm: BUSLOADS OF SHOPPERS STRIP SUPERMARKET SHELVES

A WESTBURY supermarket has been forced to introduce limits on some grocery items as “car loads and mini bus loads” of shoppers strip the shelves bare of some essential items.

Westbury IGA Everyday Supermarket took to Facebook on Wednesday to announce the “unfortunate” new measures.

“We are experiencing car loads and mini bus loads of people coming to the store and buying as much as they can,” the post said.

“We don’t want our loyal and regular customers to miss out on things they may need so as we said before, we are trying our very best to keep the stock on the shelves for you all.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

1.47pm: VICTIMS SHOWED SYMPTOMS BEFORE RETURNING TO TASMANIA

ALL THREE new cases of coronavirus were contracted overseas, with the victims showing symptoms before arriving in the country.

Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch addressed the public, stating the victims were a woman, and two men in their 40s.

The woman travelled in the United Kingdom, and the men travelled through several European countries before returning to Australia.

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12.27pm: BUSINESS, TOURISM, POSITIVE IN WAKE OF ISOLATION

Leading tourism and business bodies in Tasmania have backed ’traumatic’ new self-isolation laws for those entering Tasmania, saying it may help to calm the state.

This comes as Premier Peter Gutwein announced a State of Emergency, mandating all incoming travellers must self-isolate for 14 days.

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9.15am: PREMIER ANNOUNCES ‘TOUGHEST BORDER MEASURES’

Premier Peter Gutwein has announced strict new border measures to control the spread of coronavirus.

“From midnight, Friday 20 March, all non-essential travellers departing for Tasmanian will be required to quarantine for 14 days,” he said.

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7.43pm, yesterday: THREE MORE CORONAVIRUS CASES CONFIRMED

TASMANIA’S coronavirus toll has climbed to 10, after the State Government confirmed three more people had contracted the virus.

The three people – a woman and two men, all aged in their 40s – have recently travelled to the state from overseas.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the State Government said the latest cases were all in southern Tasmania.

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